1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the field of portable and permanent enclosures, including for example, tents and hunting blinds and the like provided with camouflage to blend into the surrounding environment, and more particularly, to an enclosure comprised of a fabric material to which photographic images of the actual environment are printed and display a continuous facsimile of the actual environment that the enclosure is placed in a manner that the enclosure blends into and replicates the environment as seen by a viewer as if the enclosure were not there.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of tents or blinds to house or shelter an inhabitant, such as a hunter or nature observer, is known. Typically, the tent or blind is comprised of a suitable fabric, possibly water repellant, intended to be somewhat permanent or erected as a temporary structure, and adapted to enable ease of erection and tear down.
Additionally, the fabric is typically camouflaged such as by being dyed with splotches of green and brown and black and tan to make the blind hard to distinguish from the background or, as a minimum, of a color adapted to blend in with the surrounding environment. Typically, however, the shapes or splotches are somewhat general in nature and do not replicate any particular environment. Additionally, the colors may not be completely representative of the actual environment in which the blind is placed.
Various approaches and constructions of camouflaged tents, housings, blinds and the like and material therefor are to be found in the patent prior art, including U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,253, issued Mar. 17, 1998 to Wilkinson; U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,131, issued Jul. 20, 1999 to Wilkinson; U.S. Pat. No. 6,342,290, issued Jan. 29, 2002 to Conk; U.S. Pat. No. 6,682,879, issued Jan. 27, 2004 to Conk; U.S. Pat. No. 6,859,983, issued Mar. 1, 2005 to Curtis et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,953,511, issued Oct. 11, 2005 to Bowles, Jr. et al; and U.S. Pat. Publications 2005/0005339, published Jan. 13, 2005 to Johnson; and 2005/0118402, published Jun. 2, 2005 to Henderson et. al. These patents are specifically incorporated herein by reference as regards the conventional approaches and constructions taught therein.
These prior art patents are so identified herein in recognition of a duty of disclosure of related subject matter, which may be relevant under 37 CFR 1.56.
There is an ongoing need for improvements in such blinds, tents, and like shelters and provision therefor of realistic camouflaging that replicates a continuous wide view of the actual environment in which the blind is erected.